Blind sided
by Sailorme120
Summary: Gaara is in Konoha attending the Chuunin exams when he finds a girl who may change his life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Gaara was never a happy person, and he certainly never thought he'd find love. But when he attends the next Chuunin exams he finds a girl who might just change all that. (Several small OC's and a couple big ones.)

Gaara stood watching the preliminary matches of the Chuunin exam. There hadn't been this good of an outcome for the second exam since he first took it. But here they were, holding a preliminary exam to cut the number of passing Genin by at least half.

This go round 8 teams had managed to get through, which was a major feet by any means. (For those of you bad a math that's 24 genin :-P) Two teams from the sand, one from the grass, and the last five from Konoha.

Gaara walked up to his brother, who was watching with pride at his team as they stood listening to Konoha's hokage giving her speech.

"How do you think they'll do?" Gaara asked.

"They're my team. They'll destroy everything that gets in their way," Kankurou answered with his usual cockiness.

"Not if they're in my team's way!" Temari interjected.

"We'll see about that," Kankurou argued back at her.

Gaara didn't say anything. He didn't feel it was his place to get in the middle of their quarrels. It was their business, not his. He was simply here because he had to be, as the sands Kazekage.

"Alright. Lets get the matches started!" The examiner said with no enthusiasm in his voice what so ever.

The screen above hummed as it sorted through names. Everyone waited anxiously as they watched the yellow letters buzz by. Finally they stopped.

"Right then. The first match, Thanos Persephone vs. Yokimu Ewina." The examiner called out, again with zero passion.

"Well look at that. Are girls get to fight after all." Kankurou said to his sister.

"Hmph, that little cat girl stands no chance against my Persephone!" Temari assured her little brother.

"We'll see. That little cat girl can be pretty vicious!"

While his siblings argued, Gaara stood watching unmoved by the selection. He wasn't meaning to be sexist (And neither is the author. I'm a girl for god's sake! So don't pester me about it!) but the fights with two girls were never as good. According to him girls didn't fight with the same intensity that boys did. There was far too much emotion when girls fought.

Before they knew it the fight had started. The girls were going at each other like Cats in an ally. Ewina, a little blonde with cat like eyes, started by pulling off a little backpack that she always carried. And, as expected, a small cat jumped out to aid her in battle. Although it looked pointless, Gaara was sure it was effective.

Persephone was a genin that people had named the death bringer. She looked the part as well. Her hair was pitch black and fell in front of her face. She never wore her forehead protector because she felt it was unnecessary. Much like Gaara when he was a genin, this girl had been on several high ranked missions and always came back unscathed. When you did get a glimpse of her eyes, they were pure blue like ice. And her expression was always frightening.

It was her families wicked bloodline limit that made her so strong. It let her use a special dark chakra. (Haha…when I first thought this it reminded me of special dark chocolate. Can't you picture a ninja's secret jutsu being throwing special, chakra infused, dark chocolate bars at their opponent. Lol. Ok sorry…back to the story.) It protected her from any kind of attack that involved chakra hitting her. And since most ninja used chakra to enhance their attacks, they become completely nullified.

The jounin teachers all stood and watched as the fight commenced. Ewina used her cat like jutsu to hold her own. But the moment Persephone used that strange dark chakra is was all over. The out come was rather predictable. Ewina didn't stand a chance.

The examiner called the match when Ewina was down and unconscious. Persephone stood there panting with a wicked smile on her face. She was very strong. It was a simple misfortune that Kankurou's team member had to be paired up with her.

More matches went on, and all were interesting. But there was one match in particular that Gaara was curious to see.

Once again the screen stopped and landed on two names. Hamanate Kyoshi and Ikio Nikomi. This was the match Gaara wanted to see.

Kyoshi, a young boy about 12 years old, stepped into the ring. He had short blueish black hair and eyes the color of smoke. He was known as the silent wind, another one of Temari's team members. His clothes were as subtle as his quiet personality. Simple black pants and a mesh top to match. His forehead protector was hanging around his neck showing that he obviously didn't need it.

He stood in the ring arms crossed not saying a word waiting for his opponent. Gaara was also waiting patiently to see who it was he would be fighting. Who ever it was, was certainly unlucky to be paired up with him.

Another minute passed by and finally from the steps a tapping could be heard. Gaara turned his attention over to the stairs where a girl was gingerly walking down the steps into the ring. She had a long, brown, wooden walking stick which she was tapping back and forth, guiding her way.

Her clothing was very odd. She had on a deep red lace up bodice that cut off inches above her belly button. To match it, she wore a long flowing red and beige skirt and under it reddish brown pantaloons. She too wore her forehead protector not on her forehead, but neatly around her waist. But that wasn't the odd part. What was strange was that her whole body, anywhere you would have seen skin from the neck down, was wrapped up in bandages.

Kyoshi turned towards the girl walking down the stairs. She looked frail and weak. Her short brown hair framed her face and her eyes had no pigment at all. Where there should have been color there was simply a light shade of gray that was almost white. Her pupils were fogged over as well. What could this mean?

"Wait…She's blind! I can't fight her!" Kyoshi yelled out.

The girl finally made it down the steps and was heading towards Kyoshi. She didn't say anything until she was face to face with him. "Don't underestimate me!" She told him, poking him hard in the chest.

Kyoshi looked at her appalled. He was this year's number one rookie and he had to fight a blind girl! This was an outrage.

Kyoshi's teammates stood staring in shock. There was no doubt he would win no matter who he was paired up with, but this was going to be too easy.

"Temari-sensei, you can't allow this!" Persephone demanded.

"There's nothing I can do. He has to fight her." Temari told the girl. "But think of it this way. He'll get to save his best jutsu for the finals."

"True," Temari's youngest student, Keeran, agreed. "This way we'll all go to the finals having not shown any of our best techniques."

Temari nodded, in accord with the young red head boy.

"Well then…let's get this fight started." The examiner stated as dull as ever. "Ok…go."

"Tch…I can't believe I have to fight a blind girl." Kyoshi complained once again.

"Oh don't get so upset. I promise I'll give a good fight!" The blind girl responded.

"Whatever!" At that Kyoshi went in for his first attack.

Everyone but her sensei, Neji, and Gaara, who hardly ever reacts to anything, cringed. Kyoshi was confident he would hit her.

Without any effort at all the blind girl dodged his attack.

Everyone watching gasped. None of them knew how she had managed that. It was almost as if she could see him.

Gaara glanced over at Neji, who was standing arms crossed watching his student with the utmost confidence. Like Gaara, it didn't take Neji very long to become a jounin. They were both very young still, but it seemed that despite his being so close in age to his students he managed to teach them well.

Kyoshi looked at the girl, who like her sensei, was standing confidently with her arms crossed. "How did you do that?" He demanded.

"Hah! Like I'd tell you. You see I'm not one of those stupid people who right away goes and tells all their secrets!" The girl declared with a sort of cockiness in her voice. "Come on…is that all you got?"

Kyoshi growled then again came at her with a solid punch. But again, as easily as ever, she dodged it.

"Boy…you sure are repetitive. Don't you have anything else? I thought you were this year's number one rookie!" Now she was just taunting him.

"Fine then!" At that, Kyoshi made three seals with his hands then threw them forward yelling out his jutsu's name. Out of no where a huge gust of wind came blowing out from between his hands.

When the wind dispersed the whole place was a wreck. Amongst the wreckage was a lump of red clothes lying lifeless.

"Heh. After all that talk she didn't even last five minutes." Kyoshi said, lowering his hands, letting his guard down.

As he started to walk toward the body laying there he felt a thud on his back and suddenly he could no longer move.

"Gotcha," He heard whispered in his ear. He stood there, paralyzed. The body that had been laying there was gone and he had a bad feeling it was behind him.

He struggled to crane his neck to look around. There, not three feet behind him, stood the frail blind girl, the end of her walking stick stuck right in the middle of his back. After he examined it for a moment, he realized chakra was flowing through it. But why couldn't he move?

That's when he saw it. There was more then just chakra moving through it. Flowing out of his body was the familiar blue glow of chakra and flowing back into him was something else. Some kind of strange purple energy.

"I guess now I can reveal my little trick. You see…I was born blind, this is true. But for some reason I could see chakra." She explained.

Everyone in the room perked up, and was completely taken aback after hearing this. Gaara looked over to Neji, still not phased by this statement, and realized why he had been made this girls sensei. Her eyes were much like his byakugan.

"I pinpointed one of your chakra points, and with this handy little walking stick I'm able to hit it directly and absorb your chakra. But you see…that's not all." She explained with an evil grin across her face.

Kyoshi grunted a little then managed to get out, "What…are you putting in me?"

"I was just getting to that. That strange purple substance is a negative chakra that only I carry in my body. When other people get touched by it their bodies start to betray them. In other words, if I let this go much longer your body will begin to attack itself from the inside. In fact…right now you're probably starting to feel a little light headed and dizzy, aren't you? Like the walls are morphing around you."

Kyoshi knew exactly what she was talking about. The faces watching from above were completely unrecognizable. The walls around him seemed like they were melting and swirling into something else. He couldn't focus anymore. It was becoming hard to breath. He didn't know how much more he could take.

The blind girl lowered her walking stick and without fail Kyoshi collapsed to the floor, still conscious, but unable to move.

"The winner…Ikio Nikomi." The examiner stated flatly.

The blind girl again searched her way back up the steps, nice and slowly, just like she had come down. She was blind after all.

Gaara watched her the whole way, and as she walked by the other two sand siblings looked at her completely speechless. She had taken the number one rookie down in a matter of minutes.

_Ikio Nikomi huh? _Gaara said to himself. _Very interesting._


	2. Chapter 2

(So yeah, Next time I mess up like that someone tell me lol. I just now noticed, after like a month, that chapter one was posted along with chapter 2. So I fixed it for all you future readers out there. I'm sorry guys. Hopefully I won't make that mistake again. It was a serious oops. Alright...happy reading!)

Chapter 2

Gaara walked down the streets of Konoha, making his way towards the Academy. For some bizarre reason Tsunade had decided that he, and several of the examiners, along with the winners from the preliminaries, should go and talk to the students.

He wasn't looking forward to it at all, he hated doing things like this. But it was just one of those things that came with being Kazekage, so he would endure.

As he walked along he suddenly heard a strange tapping coming up behind him. He turned his head to see what it was, and as he expected it was the blind girl, Nikomi, from the preliminary rounds.

She quickly caught up to him, which wasn't difficult considering he dreaded this so much he was walking as slow as possible. As she walked past him, he for just a moment met eyes with hers.

They were blank, she truly was blind. But in them was an intensity that he had only seen in a few other people in his life. It nearly gave him chills. There was hate in her eyes.

She didn't say anything to him, just continued on her way. He knew they would eventually have to exchange words. They were headed towards the same place after all.

Gaara reluctantly entered the academy. He was the last one to arrive, but it didn't really matter. He was still right on time. Tsunade, Iruuka, Shikamaru, and Naruto, along with the preliminary winners, all stood there waiting for him.

"Alright, everyone's here. The students will very much so enjoy this I'm sure. They need someone to look up to." Tsunade explained.

"That's right! Lets go!" Naruto yelled out, over zealous as always.

It was the first time Gaara had seen him in a while. But it seemed that he hadn't really changed at all.

"Naruto don't get too excited it's just the academy students." Shikamaru told him. "What a troublesome guy," he finished as always.

Gaara sighed. As cliché as it was, the more things changed around here, the more they stayed the same. Even though Naruto was inches away from being Hokage, he still was just as crazy and hyper as ever. Shikamaru was a top jounin and still would rather watch the clouds. It was like they were the same people from 4 years ago.

After a brief talk, they all dispersed heading off to different class rooms to talk to the students, two people to each class room. Gaara hadn't paid any attention as to who he had been paired up with, considering Tsunade had just told them each their room number not who their partner was. But to his surprise, and satisfaction, he ended up going to Nikomi.

As they walked down the hallways, she didn't say anything at all. It was like she was plotting something wicked at all times. There was something seriously wrong with this girl.

"So you're the sands kazekage huh?" She asked, finally breaking the awkward silence between two very stern people.

"Yes," Gaara answered bluntly.

"Do you have to come every time we have one of these stupid exams?" She questioned.

"Yes," He answered, once again very ingenuously.

"Hmph. More reason for me to never become a kage." She uttered.

Gaara looked down at her curiously. Now that he was getting a better look at her, she seemed older then the other students. Although she as tiny, probably only 4 foot 10 her face told him she had to be at least 15.

"What's with the jug?" She asked rather sarcastically.

"It's a gourd. And it's filled with sand," Gaara answered a little irritated.

"oh...ok. I guess that's why they call you Sabaku no Gaara."

"Yeah."

"Well so glad we could have this riveting conversation." She ended rather snidely.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her. There was definitely something strange about this girl. Her out look on life was far too jaded. She had definitely been through some tough times before. Probably due to her blindness.

The two of them didn't exchange any words after that. They simply entered the classroom, did their speech, and left.

As they approached the exit Gaara noticed the girl continued to hold her stomach as if it were in pain. He thought maybe she hadn't eaten breakfast and was just hungry. But the expression she had on her face said otherwise. She looked like she was generally in pain.

Before they could take another step the girl let out a scream, doubled over, fell to her knees, then onto the floor. Gaara stopped and immediately knelt down beside her.

She was curled up in the fetal position, shaking, and holding her stomach. He didn't know what was wrong but he knew that she obviously needed medical attention. He quickly grabbed her up in his arms and began to rush her off to the hospital.

She didn't argue at all. It seemed as if she could hardly breathe. From what he could hear, her breaths were all very short and shallow. In his arms he could feel her temperature drastically rising. At this rate the fever would overtake her and she would soon be in critical condition.

In no time flat Gaara reached the Konoha hospital where he quickly approached the nurses sitting at the front desk.

"Gaara-sama…can I…" They started confused, then noticed the quivering girl in his arms.

"Oh no! Quickly follow me." One of the nurses said, running towards the hospital rooms.

"Put her here," she gestured to a bed. Gaara followed her instruction and gently laid the girl down, who as soon as she touched the bed rolled over onto her side and curled up.

"You stay here with her. I'm going to get Sakura!" The nurse instructed.

Gaara stood there, watching Nikomi as she writhed in pain. He had never seen anything like this before. It was like one minute she was being obnoxious and overly sarcastic, and the next she was pratically dieing.

In a flash the door flew open and Sakura came running in. She didn't even acknowledge Gaara, she simply went straight the bed and knelt down.

"Nikomi," she said softly, not trying to startle the girl. "I need you to try to sit up."

Nikomi cringed and curled up even tighter. "No!" She managed to squeak out.

"I know it hurts but you have to, you know that!" Sakura urged.

"I can't." She said through clenched teeth.

Sakura sighed then turned to face Gaara. "I need your help." She said quite urgently.

Gaara nodded and walked over to the bed. "What can I do?" He asked, knowing he had no medical training at all.

"I just need you to sit her up while I take off her bandages." Sakura explained.

Gaara nodded once more and proceeded to do what he was told. Although Nikomi resisted quite a bit, probably due to the pain, Gaara managed to sit her up by sitting down in front of her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

It was slightly awkward for him. He had never had a girl so close to him in this intimate of a position. But it was something he had to. He knew this girls life depended on it.

Sakura reached around and proceeded to untie the girls top. It fell off behind her, and now all that was left was her bandages.

Gaara's eyes grew wide as he realized this girl was going to be topless in his arms. But he tried not to react. He had to put on a brave face, and act adult about it. He was the kazekage after all.

Sakura began to gently, but hastily, unwrap the girls bandages. With every one the girl cringed a little more.

Gaara watched curiously as the bandages came off. He wondered why the girl wore them all over her body. And he soon got his answer.

As the first few bandages came off a small purple mark was peaking through. As more and more unwrapped the spot got bigger and bigger. The more spots began to appear.

Gaara couldn't believe what he was seeing. Now that the bandages were unwrapped halfway down her back, he could see hundred of these odd markings. They were completely engulfing her body.

The girl's breathing had slowed and steadied a bit as she slipped in and out of conciousness. Gaara held onto to her shoulders as best he could without disturbing any of the wounds.

"Gaara…I need you to keep her awake!" Sakura shouted, almost finished with undoing her bandages. "If she falls asleep for too long it may be very difficult to wake her back up.

Gaara shook his head in agreement. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew Sakura knew what she was doing. He gently lifted the girls chin to look up at him.

"Nikomi," He said, searching for something to say. "You have to stay awake ok?"

He was terrible at this sort of thing. He wasn't really sure how to be affectionate, or caring. If he did it his way he would simply smack her everytime she dosed off. But he knew that wasn't the best method.

The girl wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes. "No," She said with a cracked voice.

"Yes. You know you have to." He told her once again.

"No," She stated once more, and nestled into his shoulder burying her face.

Gaara held his breath and clenched his teeth. He didn't know what to do. She was completely topless now and starting to cuddle with him. It was a little unnerving. "Nikomi. Please. Sakura's almost done. Just stay awake a little longer." He urged her.

Nikomi looked up at him with sad eyes. "She's not even…near finished." She told him, squinted and cringing all through the sentence.

"Yes she is," He argued. "The bandages are all off now."

"Gaara. I have to go get something hold her there and do not let her fall asleep!" Sakura told him, then ran out of the room.

Gaara reached out to stop her but knew he was useless to lowered his hand back down to her shoulder.

"She'll be back and everything is going to be fine." Gaara told Nikomi, just trying to make conversation to keep her awake.

"Heh," Nikomi said laughing, then started to double back over.

Gaara grabbed her tighter, keeping her from laying back down. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"This…is the worst…part." She said between shallow breaths.

Sakura flew back into the room holding some sort of kit. She set it down onto the table next to the bed and quickly flipped it open. Inside Gaara could see a huge needle and some sort of glowing blue serum in a bottle.

His eyes went wide when he realized that Sakura was going to inject this girl with that stuff using that needle. He now knew what Nikomi had meant when she said that this was the worst part.

Sakura field the needle with the serum and sat down behind the shaking girl. "Ok, here it comes. Are you ready?" Sakura asked softly.

Nikomi shook her head. "No…but…just do it." She commanded.

Sakura began to count, "1,2…" She paused as she prepared the needle.

Nikomi closed her eyes and clung tight to Gaara's shirt.

"3!" Sakura yelled out then jabbed the needle into the base of her spine.

Nikomi let out a blood curdling scream and squeezed as Garra's shirt as tight as she could.

Gaara watched, emotionless on the outside, but horrified inside. What was wrong with her? Why did she know what was going to happen? Did this happen to her often?

Just then Gaara felt a drop of water on his hand. He looked and saw that the girl who was clinging to desperately to him and broken down in tears. He looked over to see if Sakura was finished, but she wasn't.

Sakura continued to pump the girls body with whatever this strange substance was. Once it was in, Gaara without knowing it, let out a sigh of relief. But then he could feel the girl shaking her head back and forth as if to say "It's not over yet."

Gaara watched Sakura intently and realized that with the same needle she was puling out some kind of weird purple liquid. Then he realized that the marks covering the girls body were dissipating, leaving behind feint scars where they once were. Now that the marks were gone, Gaara could see that her whole body was scarred up by whatever this weird stuff was.

Nikomi clenched her teeth, and was now practically digging her nails into Gaara's skin. If it weren't for the layer of clothes and sand covering him, he would have surely ended up with tiny marks where her nails had scratched him.

Sakura pulled the needle out slowly and sighed. "You let it go too far this time Nikomi." She said as she cleaned up the mess.

Nikomi was shaking, still buried in Gaara's chest, clutching to him as if she would fall over if she let go. "I…know…" She said through sobs.

Sakura then pulled out a new role of the bandaging and sat back down. "I need you to sit up on your own." She instructed.

But Nikomi shook her head no. She didn't want to move. Her body was still fighting her. She was comfy here. This person who was holding her was warm and strong. It made her feel secure. She really wasn't even sure who it was, but she didn't want them to let go.

"Please Nikomi. We have to reapply the bandages and I'm sure Gaara-sama has things he has to get done." Sakura insisted.

But Nikomi wouldn't budge. She simply let out a large sob and held on tight to Gaara. Her whole upper body was wrapped in his warmth. It was soothing. As much as her entire body ached right now this was all she wanted. She knew it didn't really mean anything, but she had never really had anyone to hold her or console her when she was sick or sad. So when this happened, and the nurses held onto her, she never wanted to let go. But this time was even better then all the others. This person was stronger then most of the nurses and seemed to feel genuinely concerned about her. She never wanted them to let go.

"It's alright Sakura." Gaara chimed in. "She'll let go when she's ready."

Sakura sighed. "Are you sure?" She asked concerned.

"Yes. I'm sure. I'm the sands kazekage. She may not be a sand ninja, but she's still some one who needs to be taken care of." He explained to her, holding onto the shivering girl in his arms.

Sakura stood up, setting the bandages down on the table. "Ok then. If you're alright with it. If she falls asleep now it's alright. She's no longer in danger." Sakura explained to him. "I'm going to get Tsunade-sama. I'll be back shortly."

Sakura then left the room, leaving Gaara alone with the frightened and pain ridden girl.

Nikomi buried her face even more into Gaara's chest. He could feel the tears penetrating his clothes, but it didn't really bother him. Right now all he cared about was her well being.

After a few minutes the sobbing slowed then came to a halt. Her grip on his clothes had let up quite a bit and occasionally her body would twitch followed by a single sob then a slow breath out.

Gaara closed his eyes and took a deep breath then let it out and looked at her. Her eyes were closed. She was no longer shaking and seemed completely relaxed. She had fallen asleep in his arms.

He grabbed the blankets and gingerly wrapped them around her, covering her whole body. He then began to carefully lay her down. But the moment he started to let go of her she wined and grabbed hold of him again.

_Oh boy. _He thought. _What have I gotten myself into?_

He sat back up with her, letting her cuddle with him. She was covered up by the blankets, which made him feel a little better, but he still felt awfully out of place. But no matter how he tried, any time he tried to let go of her she would wake up just enough to grab hold of him once more. He decided that he would simply wait for Sakura and Tsunade to get back so they could take care of her.


	3. Chapter 3

A half hour had gone by when Tsunade and Sakura finally showed up again. Gaara was still holding onto Nikomi. He looked down at her. The girl who not that long ago was being sarcastic and overly confident now looked frail and weak.

"What took so long?" Gaara asked the two women as they walked into the room.

"Sorry. It took me a while to find Tsunade-sama. You could have told me you guys were at the academy." Sakura answered annoyed.

Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. "She really let it go too long this time didn't she?"

"It was bad. If she had let it go much longer I don't know if we could have helped her." Sakura replied.

"What's wrong with her?" Gaara asked.

"Look at the palm of her hand." Sakura instructed.

Gaara picked up one of the girls hands, causing her to stir just a bit, and turned it over to look at the palm. There, right in the center, was a large dark purple spot.

"What is this?" He asked.

"That's a chakra point. She has one on each of her hands." Said Sakura.

"A chakra point?" Gaara asked confused. Normally chakra points were the size of the head of a pin, naked to the eye. But this was almost the size of a golf ball. It covered nearly her entire palm.

Tsunade sat down in a chair that was in the room and began to explain the situation. "Let me start from the beginning. First of all, Nikomi wasn't actually born blind. She was simply blinded when she was an infant."

Gaara looked at Tsunade perplexed. "How?" He asked intrigued.

"You see. Nikomi is an orphan. Her father died before she was born and her mother passed away at child birth. So from the start she was alone. Since she was so young she was given to an orphanage. But she didn't stay there long. Instead a man, who at the time seemed confident and stable, came and adopted her, saying he and his wife couldn't have children and always wanted a baby girl. But that man turned out to be none other than Orochimaru." Tsunade explained to him in detail.

Gaara looked at her shocked. What could he have done to her to make her this way?  
"It turns out he was going from country to country searching for babies orphaned at birth so he could experiment on them by opening the chakra points in their hands and infusing them with a special new substance he had developed. As you know from the preliminaries she has a negative chakra that flows through her. That was Orochimaru's doing." Sakura added.

"But to his dismay all of the children died by the time they were 4. All but one. Nikomi here only went blind from the negative chakra. For some reason her body could handle it. Of course at first Orochimaru thought that her blindness would make her useless until he realized she could see Chakra." Tsunade explained to him. "So he began to train her as a ninja, teaching her to use the negative chakra to her advantage. She was his little weapon."

Gaara stared intently at the girl sleeping in his arms. _A weapon. _He thought. _Just like me._

"But Orochimaru noticed that everytime she used this ability the chakra would eventually attack her body. So when she was ten he kicked her to the curb, labeling her a failed experiment." Sakura finished.

Gaara could completely understand. He too was a failed experiment. His father had put the Shukaku inside of him to make him the ultimate fighting weapon. But it was realized he couldn't control it his own father tried to have him assassinated over and over again.

"A year later, just after I had become Hokage, I found her walking the streets covered in dirty bandages and stealing food wherever she could. I decided I'd take her in then and help her." Tsunade informed him.

"So…does this happen every time she uses the technique?" Gaara asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "Not every time. As you probably know, that walking stick she uses isn't normal. It's infused with that negative chakra. At the preliminaries when she was fighting that boy, she hit his chakra point opening it up to allow the negative chakra to flow in and his chakra to flow out."

"But since Nikomi knew this boy was only fighting her because he had to, and probably had no intention of killing her, she didn't want to seriously hurt him. So she stopped the chakra from flowing anymore into his body." Sakura added. "But the problem with this chakra is that once it begins to flow, it's hard to get it stop. So once she broke it from attacking that boy, it began to attack her instead."

Gaara looked at her hand, examining it further. People had always called him a monster, but compared to Orochimaru he was nothing.

Just then Nikomi moved, yanking her hand down, causing the blankets to fall off of her. She moaned and cuddled up even more with Gaara, pressing her entire upper body against his chest.

Gaara's eyes went wide as he felt her press against him. His heart raced and he felt his cheeks flush. It took a lot to make him react like this, so this was definitely making him feel a little awkward.

He cleared his throat and tried once again to lay the sleeping girl down on the bed. But just like before, Nikomi whined and clung onto to him.

Sakura giggled and Tsunade let out a little snicker. "It seems she really likes you." Tsunade remarked.

Gaara sighed and sat back up, still holding onto her. He could not get her to let go of him.

"You can just lay her down. Once you make her let go she won't notice." Sakura explained.

Gaara nodded and did as she said. He had to pry her fingers from his shirt, and she did complain a little, but she eventually curled up on the bed and went to sleep. He then covered her with the blankets and stood up.

Sakura laughed once more. "You're soaked from tears and sweat."

Gaara looked down and grunted. His shirt was completely drenched. Back in the day he would have been pissed, but now he only found himself a little put off by it.

"Go home." Tsunade ordered him. "She'll be fine."  
"Alright." Gaara agreed. "Then I'll leave her to you." At that he turned and left in his normal uptight fashion.

When he arrived back at where he was staying he fell back onto the bed and let out a heavy sigh. It had been a rather eventful and exhausting morning.

He touched his shirt and groaned. It really was sopping wet. But then his mind went to something else. He could still remember how it felt to have her against him. Her warmth on his skin, the feel of her pulse against his chest. It made him feel good, like he'd never felt before.

"That was a good feeling." He said to himself out loud.

"What's a good feeling?" A voice asked from the other side of the room.

Gaara sat up and looked towards the door. "Nothing," he said sternly.

"Where have you been?" Temari asked.

"I had to go to the academy this morning," he explained while standing up. "Then I had to take one of the students to the hospital."

Temari looked him up and down then asked, "What were you doing there, swimming? You're soaked!"

Gaara turned, rather nonchalantly, to face the window on the other side of the room putting his back to her. He could not let her see that he was blushing for the second time today. "One of the final candidates collapsed and I had to take her to the hospital." He explained not telling her any more.

Temari let it go. She knew pestering him about it would be completely useless. "Well, I just stopped in for a second to grab something and now I'm heading back out to train Persephone and Keeran. I'll be back later."

Gaara didn't say anything else. He waited for the sound of the door then turned around to check if she had left. Once he was sure she was gone, he let out a heavy sigh and sat back down on the bed. He couldn't get the feeling of her body against his out of his head. It just made him feel…strange. He didn't know how to describe it. But it was a good feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

(Reviews reviews! Come on people…reviewing is fun. Tell me if you liked it. Tell me you hated it. I don't care. I want to know how I'm doing!)

Nikomi sat near her hospital window letting the warmth of the sun hit her face. It was a nice day out and she was stuck here for the next two days. She didn't have many visitors. Her two team mates and Neji all made a point of coming to her see her at least once, but that was just out of courtesy, nothing more.

The fact was Nikomi didn't have many friends. She hadn't lived in this village all her life like the other kids her age and to top that off she was older then most of the other genin. Of course she was pretty confident she would pass this Chuunin exam without any problems at all.

Just then the door to her room creaked open. She didn't even bother to turn and look to see who it was. She figured it was probably a nurse coming to check on her.

"You're awake…that's…good." A male voice said hesitantly.

Nikomi raised one eyebrow and looked around. There in the doorway stood Gaara, arms crossed, but looking rather nervous.

"Why are you here?" She asked abruptly.

"Nice to see you too." He answered, walking all the way in and shutting the door behind him.

Nikomi looked at him a little lost. Why in the world would he come to see her? She had only talked to him once and that was a very brief and boring conservation at the academy. After their speeches she had collapsed and…

She suddenly realized why he was here. She felt heat in her cheeks as she blushed and looked down at the ground. He had carried her all the way here from the academy.

There was a long awkward silence, neither one of them were really sure how to break it. Nikomi didn't have much recollection of that day, but she was pretty positive he did.

"Um…thank you." She finally said just loud enough that he could hear.

"Oh! Um…you're welcome. It was…nothing." Gaara said, pulling up the other chair and sitting in it across the room from her.

"How long…did you stay? I mean…after I collapsed. I don't remember much." She asked timidly.

"Oh…well I stayed pretty much the whole time. I had to help Sakura out. That looked like one nasty shot."

Nikomi held her breath for a second and turned an even brighter shade of red. _I was afraid he would say that. _She thought. _He couldn't possibly have been the one that I…oh man._

"What's wrong?" He asked, seeing her mortified expression.

"Uh…um nothing nothing!" She said, making noting gestures and scratching the back of her head.

_He totally saw me topless…didn't he? _She asked herself. _Oh man, oh man. This is terrible. And so embarrassing. I cuddled to him!_

"Are you ok? You look a little feverish." Gaara asked concerned.

"I'm fine. It's just from the shot. It makes me run fevers on and off that's all." It was a total lie, but she had to think of something.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to ask Tsunade and Sakura but what was in that shot. I mean I kind of gathered they were pulling out that negative chakra but what was it that they put in you?" Gaara asked.

Nikomi had finally gained her composure and replied, "It's a chakra infused antidote. It basically replaces the negative chakra with regular chakra and helps to pull out what negative chakra is left. Basically it turns bad chakra into good chakra."

"I see. Will you eventually not have the negative chakra anymore?" He asked trying to keep the conversation going.

"No. Just like regular chakra the negative chakra replenishes itself over time. But so long as I don't release it it doesn't matter. Unfortunately I have no choice but to release it. It's the basis of my jutsu." She explained.

"I see."

Nikomi looked out her window and saw Tsunade coming into the hospital. She sighed and stood up ready to head to the bed, knowing she would be scolded for being out of bed.

Gaara's heart skipped a beat at the moment he saw her stand up. She was covered in bandages again, but that was all that was covering her upper half. His mind went straight back to the way she felt curled up against him.

He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to blush. He would not blush again if he could help it.

Nikomi sat hard onto the bed and stretched. She was getting cabin fever being stuck in this room all the time and really wanted to get out and start her training for the finals.

Gaara watched as she stretched, closing her eyes, putting her hands in the air, and making cute odd noises every now and then. Because her body was stretched out tall, little slits of bare skin showed through the bandages. Fortunately for him, is was mostly her stomach that showed. But he still couldn't help it. His face turned beat red and he instinctively dropped his head between his legs to hide his face.

Nikomi let out one last yawn then dropped her arms. She noticed his odd position and gave him a funny look. "Are you alright?" She asked.

Gaara looked up at her. His face had gone back to normal. "Yeah I'm fine." He said sounding rather laid-back.

"Are you sure? You look sick." She asked a little concerned about it.

"No really. I'm ok." He assured her.

"Ok. If you say so." She said, swinging her legs onto the bed and scooting back so she could rest her back on the back of the bed. She let out a very heavy groan and closed her eyes. She was so bored in this room.

The door opened slowly and in came Tsunade as expected. She looked and saw that Gaara was sitting there and smiled at him. "Hello. Came to see your new friend?" She asked knowing it would embarrass him.

Gaara nodded, not phased at all by it. "I wanted to make sure she was ok."

"Oh…ok." Tsuande said a little disappointed. "How are you feeling today?" She asked, turning her attention to Nikomi.

"Better. I think I'm ok to leave." Nikomi blurted out.

"I don't think so."

"Come on! I've been here for two days already. I'm bored to tears. I feel fine. My body is working perfectly. The chakra is suppressed. What's the issue?" Nikomi reasoned.

"The issue is we need to monitor you for a couple more days. I can't have you going out and there by yourself without any supervision at all. What if you have another problem? What if you collapse again? And more importantly I don't need you training!" Tsunade yelled at her.

"Hmph." Nikomi said simply, throwing herself against the pillows on her bed.

"You can complain all you want, but unless you can find some one to watch you constantly I won't release you." Tsunade told her point blankly.

"But Tsunade-sama!" Nikomi started.

"No…end of discussion."

Nikomi whined. She had one more trick up her sleeve. "Well. What if I just get a days leave. Like not even a day…just a couple of hours. I just need out of this hospital!"

"Do you have someone to watch you?" Tsunade asked, knowing she didn't.

"No." Nikomi answered dismayed.

"I'll do it." Gaara chimed in.

The two of them looked at him completely perplexed.

"What did you say?" Tsunade asked completely thrown by it.

"I'll watch her if all she wants is fresh air. It's really no problem at all." Gaara said, completely out of character for him.

"Well there you go!" Nikomi said as perky as she'd ever been.

Tsunade shot Gaara a dirty look and growled. "Fine. But you have to be back here before sun down. Got it?"

Nikomi nodded and quickly jumped out of bed. She was excited. She didn't have to be back for a few hours. She didn't care if she couldn't train. At this point all she wanted was to get out of this stinky hospital. "Just give me a minute and I'll be ready."

She snatched up her top and carefully slipped it on and began to lace it up.

Gaara watched closely, not realizing he was staring at her.

Tsunade gave him a side way glance as if to say, "Oh…I get it now."

Nikomi finished putting the final tie on her top and nodded. "Alright. Lets go!"

"Just sign her out." Tsunade instructed, not stopping them from leaving.

"Right! Will do." Nikomi said and she grabbed her walking stick and then Gaara and proceeded to drag him down the hallway. Gaara signed her out then they left the hospital

The moment she was out the hospital doors she dropped the perky act and turned to Gaara. "Thanks. I'm fine on my own now."

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" He asked befuddled.

She was started to walk away, one hand holding her walking stick and the other waving at him. "Thanks for your help."

Gaara shook his head and quickly snatched her hand. "I don't think so."

Nikomi looked up at him in shock. "What do you mean you don't think so?"

"I told Tsunade I would watch after you. I can't break my word to her. It wouldn't be good practice considering she's the hokage and I'm kazekage." He explained to her in his normal darkened voice.

"But…I…' Nikomi couldn't find the words. She was in total disbelief that he actually wasn't going to let her go.

Gaara let go of her hand and started to walk. "So then what easy activity would you like to do?" He asked quite serious.

Nikomi didn't know what to say. She was still in a state of total disbelief.

"I know. Lets get some lunch. Do you like Ramen?" He suggested.

Nikomi blinked a few times. She just couldn't get it past that first layer of her mind. From what she understood this guy was always quiet and brooding. Now he was being kind of…well…strange.

"Come on. It's my treat." He told her, holding out his hand for hers.

"I don't need that. I can get around fine without a guide." She told him, looking down at his hand.

"Oh…right. Sorry." He said, pulling his hand back in. In all reality that's not what he was going for. But it was a good way to play it off.

The two began to walk down the street, heading to Ichiraku Ramen. Neither one of them said much, both feeling a little awkward with the whole situation.

When they got there only one other person was sitting in the resaraunt. Gaara helped Nikomi onto one of the stools then Gaara sat next to her. Again, not much was being said.

"Ga…Gaara?" Naruto asked a little confused to see him there. "Hey Gaara! I didn't know you liked Ramen!"

Gaara cringed as Naruto made such a fuss over him being there.

"It's not bad," He said emphatically.

Naruto looked at him then noticed the girl sitting next to him. He looked back and forth between the two, a little confused. Then his expression suddenly changed. He nudged Gaara in the side and leaned in to talk to him.

"Gaara…is she your…" he raised his hand and held up his pinky. (For those who don't know in Japan that means girlfriend/boyfriend.)

"No," Gaara answered a little annoyed.

"Oho…I see." Naruto said, being his typical self. "Want to keep it on the down low right?" He whispered.

Gaara growled and ignored the spastic boy. He then put in his order and Nikomi put in hers.

"On a date?" The man behind the counter asked.

"N…" Gaara started but was soon interrupted.

"Yeah! He's her…" Naruto interjected raising his pinky once more.

"Really? Nikomi is…" The man asked a little confused. He then looked back and forth between the two of them. Neither one of them looked like they were in a relationship together.

Naruto continued to babble on about how Gaara and Nikomi were a couple. He was exaggerating a lot of it, considering this was the first time he had even seen them together. But that didn't really matter.

"Gaara." Nikomi finally said, breaking the silence between the two of them. "I've had enough."

Gaara turned and looked at her. "What? You want to go back to the hospital already?"

Nikomi chuckled and shook her head. "No…I can't eat anymore. I'm stuffed. Are you almost finished?"

Gaara sighed. He was afraid Naruto had annoyed her to the point where she wanted to go back to the hospital. He looked down at his Ramen. He had barely touched it. It wasn't his favorite food. "I'm done."

Naruto looked at them again. "You two are…" He started rather seriously.

Gaara and Nikomi bothed stared at him, wondering what he was going to say.

"Such a good couple!" He shouted. "I want to find a girl too! One that's smart, and pretty, and likes Ramen!"

Gaara and Nikomi both ended up with anime sweat drops down the back of their heads. This guy was seriously nuts.

Gaara got up and helped Nikomi off the bench. Naruto all the while was watching them in envy.

"It was nice talking to you…Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara said as he walked off.

"Right. Have fun with your new girlfriend…Gaara!" Naruto yelled out.

Gaara flinched a little at that. He really didn't want the whole village thinking she was his girlfriend. But now nothing could be done.

"He's always like that." Nikomi told him, continueing to walk.

"I know."

"But Naruto-sensei, he's a good person." Nikomi assured him.

Gaara huffed out half of a laugh and shook his head. "Naruto-sensei huh? I never thought I'd hear that."

Nikomi looked up at him and wrinkled her forehead. "What do you mean?"

"He's always said he's going to be Hokage. It doesn't seem so farfetched now." Gaara explained, still half laughing.

Nikomi shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know this village very well. She hadn't lived here that long. So she assumed that Gaara knew what he was talking about.

"So what now?" She asked, turning the subject away from Naruto.

"What do you want to do?" Gaara replied with a question.

"I don't care…so long as I don't have to go back to the hospital." Nikomi informed him. She then let out a huge yawn and momentarily paused to stretch. "But I guess Tsunade-sama was right. I don't have much energy at all."

"Will you be alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. I just don't think I'll be doing anything that takes a lot of energy." She told him.

"Right. Then what should we do?" Gaara asked.

"We?" She said mockingly. "You're really getting into this aren't you?"

Gaara closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, realizing what he had just said. "I mean. I am watching you after all. So I have to at least be there whatever you do. Right?"

"Nice save." Nikomi mocked him once more.

Gaara growled and crossed his arms in his normal manner. He was not going to let this girl get the best of him.

"I want to go into the woods. It's soothing." She told him.

"The woods?" He asked a little confused.

"It's just something I like to do." She explained, heading in the wrong direction.

"Well then you're going the wrong way." He told her.

She stopped and found herself deeply embarrassed. "Right…I knew that."

"It's ok if you want my help." He told her.

"I don't need it!" She snapped. She was tired of everyone trying to help her and underestimating her. She felt she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

Gaara glanced down at her. She suddenly looked pissed. He had obviously pushed a button he shouldn't have pushed.

"Don't get so worked up." He told her bluntly.

She suddenly stopped and clenched her fist. Then out of nowhere she took off running towards the woods.

"Wait!" Gaara yelled, but it was no use. She was running off before he could stop it.

"Damn it." He scolded, and then took off after her.

The pursuit was more work then he would have liked. She wasn't slow by any means, despite her injuries. He chased her clear into the woods and then lost sight of her. He scolded himself for being so stupid.

He searched for a while, trying to find where she had gone. The trees were dense and there wasn't much hope of finding her like this. But he had to try.

He heard a strange noise coming from a distance. He went to investigate and saw two familiar faces practicing.

Lee was beating the hell out of a practice stump while Ten Ten was practicing with her weapons scroll.

Neither one of them noticed him right away. Ten Ten had already let loose at least ten kunai, each in the direction of Gaara.

She gasped when she noticed him standing there, but it was too late.

Gaara didn't even flinch. The sand that he carried with him immediately flew up and protected him from the attack.

Ten Ten landed onto the ground and sighed with relief.

"Have you seen a blind girl come by?" he asked the two of them, not missing a beat.

"You mean Nikomi-chan?" Lee asked, ceasing his kicking of the stump.

Gaara nodded. "She ran off." He explained in a very brief matter.

"I can't say I've seen her. Neji said she was in the hospital." Ten Ten told him.

"She's on a day's leave, but she ran off just a few minutes ago." He explained a little more detailed this time. "If you see her, bring her back to the hospital." He instructed then continued on with his search.

A few minutes passed before Gaara heard a set of voices arguing with each other.

"I won't loose this time. Last time I underestimated you." A boys voice said.

"So what? You want to end up in the hospital again?" The other voice, a female one, replied.

"We'll see who ends up back in the hospital."

Gaara followed the voices and to his alarm Kyoshi and Nikomi both stood there ready to fight.

Kyoshi didn't bother with punches this time. Instead he went straight to his jutsu.

He made three hand seals and called out the jutsu. In an instant a whirlwind was headed toward Nikomi. She laughed and jumped to dodge it, but as feared her body decided to betray her.

Her knees buckled underneath her and her eyes grew wider as she saw the chakra infused wind getting closer. She closed her eyes and braced for the attack. But after a moment she noticed it was gone and a strange barrier was up in front of her.

She looked up and down and realized that there was a person in front of her too. Moments later the barrier began to break down and go back towards the person in front of her.

"Kazekage-sama!" Kyoshi yelled out. "Why are you interfering?"

Gaara didn't answer he simply turned around and knelt down beside Nikomi.

"Are you alright?" He asked, holding out his hand to her.

She looked at him with angry eyes. "I'm fine," she said while swatting his hand away.

"No…you're not. You could have dodged that normally. I think it's time I take you back." Gaara told her point blankly.

"No!" She yelled.

"Kazekage-sama, what's going on?" Kyoshi asked once again.

Gaara stood and faced the young boy. "You should be heading back. I'm going to tell your sensei about this."

Kyoshi looked at him with fear and respect. "Yes…of course." He didn't hesitate. He knew Gaara's reputation. He wasn't going to argue. He quickly ran off back to the village.

Gaara then turned his attention back to Nikomi. "That was stupid."

"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot handle?" She yelled, still angry about him telling her she wasn't ok.

"I'm not telling you what you can and cannot handle. I am simply stating what I see. You're weak now. He would have destroyed you." He told her, reverting back to his normal monotone scary voice.

"Don't underestimate me!" She yelled, jumping to her feet.

She started to throw a punch then cringed and collapsed.

Gaara automatically caught her, expecting it the entire time. "You see." He pointed out. "You don't even have the stamina right now to throw a single punch."

Nikomi sat, breathing heavily, clenching her teeth together, pushing back tears. "I'm not weak." She said under her breath. "I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt your strength. But you need to realize when you're outmatched." Gaara told her, still holding unto her.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She let a single tear fall down her cheek and fell down to her knees.

Gaara rose to his feet and looked down at her. "It's not wrong to admit weakness. Once you do that you will know yourself better, and become an even better shinobi."

Nikomi wiped the tear from her face and looked up at him. "What do you know about it? You've never had to endure the things I've had to. Being blind isn't the half of it!"

"I know the pain of loneliness, and the feeling of being rejected, if that's what you mean." Gaara told her.

Nikomi looked at him confused. "What?" She asked.

"We're a lot a like. Now…will you let me help you?' He asked once again, holding his hand out for her.

She hesitated a bit, then grabbed it, letting him pull her up. "Don't take me back. Please." She pleaded.

"I wont…not yet." He assured her.

"Thank you."

Nikomi grabbed her walking stick which she had dropped when she collapsed and her and Gaara started to walk back toward the village.

The sun was setting over Konoha. Nikomi could feel the temperature dropping as she sat staring off into nothingness. She knew that her day of semi-freedom would soon be coming to an end.

"I suppose we should be headed back." Gaara said.

"I guess." Nikomi agreed disappointed.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was setting over Konoha. Nikomi could feel the temperature dropping as she sat staring off into nothingness. She knew that her day of semi-freedom would soon be coming to an end.

"I suppose we should be headed back." Gaara said.

"I guess." Nikomi agreed disappointed.

"We can stay out longer if you want." Gaara told her.

Nikomi looked up at him a little confused. "But I have a curfew."

"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with Tsunade." He assured her.

"I hear tonight is a full moon." Nikomi stated. "I've never seen the moon…or at least not that I can remember. But on a full moon I swear I can feel it. The atmosphere is just…different."

Gaara agreed with a simple, "yeah."

"I like to sit outside on full moons and just…think." She told him. She had no idea why she was telling him these things, but she just felt she could.

"Me too." He told her, staring into the sky.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Uh huh. On full moons…I can feel Shukaku's excitement. I…I sit under the moon and meditate to try and simply quell the beast."

"Shukaku?" She asked intrigued. "Is that like your other personality or something?"

Gaara let out a pretty sincere laugh, which didn't happen very often. "I guess you can call it that."

"Oh perfect. I've got a guy with split personality disorder watching after me." She said sarcastically.

Gaara couldn't believe it, but this girl made him smile. He wasn't even sure how to handle it. He fought it at first but then couldn't resist.

The sun was almost completely set now and the moon could be seen rising into the sky. The lights in the village were beginning to switch on and everyone was settling down for the night.

Gaara looked up at the moon. He could feel Shukaku creeping out just a little. So he closed his eyes and attempted to suppress him.

Nikomi sighed. Her eyes felt heavy. It had been a long, but over all nice day. She couldn't believe she was already getting tired, but she still didn't want to go back.

Without thinking she leaned over and rested her head gently on Gaara's shoulder. It startled him at first then he relaxed and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her body consume his neck and shoulder.

_"Fool." _A voice called out to him.

Gaara's eyes shot open and he looked back up into the moon.

_"It's no use. You really think she cares?" _

"Shut up," he said under his breath.

"What?" Nikomi asked, disturbed by this little out burst.

_"You know that nobody loves you. It's just you and me, and that's all. Nobody can possibly care about a monster." _The voice told him, now getting louder and louder.

"Shut up!" He said a little louder this time.

_"Don't you remember?" _The voice asked him.

Gaara was then sent into a flash back of the children when he was growing up and how they all ran from him. He grabbed his head and cringed. "Stop!" He yelled.

Nikomi sat up and looked at him a little concerned and a little frightened.

_"Look. She's already afraid of you. Can't you see it in her face?" _

Gaara looked up and saw Nikomi's expression. She did look afraid. It was true. She was just like all the others.

"No!" He yelled out, grabbing his head with his other hand. "Shut up!"

_"Even if she did seem like she cared, the moment she found out about you she would run away. Don't you remember the last time someone said they cared about you?"_

Gaara suddenly had another flash back of his childhood, of that horrifying moment when Yashamaru tried to kill him.

Gaara cried out and stood up, still doubled over. Sand was beginning to pour out of the gourd and swirl around his feet. He couldn't control it anymore. It was doing it all on its own.

"Gaara!" Nikomi yelled out, reaching out for him. "Gaara what's wrong?" She asked.

He didn't answer, he just continued to claw at his head and holler.

Nikomi quickly tried to touch him to calm him down but was thrown to the side by the sand. She landed on the ground with a large thud and struggled to stand back up.

"Gaara!" She yelled out, trying to get through to him.

But there was no getting through to him. He was lost in his own internal conflict.

Nikomi stopped and thought for a second then realized exactly what she had to do. She snatched up her walking stick and ran towards him, her body fighting her the whole time.

She raised the stick and in one strong thrust, attempted to hit him with it. Without flaw, the sand rose up protecting him from the attack, just as she had expected.

_"Ha! You see! You've shown her your true self and now all she wants to do is hurt you!" _The voice pointed out.

Gaara yelled out again, clutching his head as if he were in serious pain.

Nikomi's walking stick was being engulfed by the sand. But then again, that was her plan all along. She charged her stick with negative chakra, grinding her teeth to endure the pain. The strange purple chakra seeped into the sand, and the sands chakra flowed out. After only a few moments the sand began to fall. The negative chakra had done its job.

Now that she had an opening, Nikomi dropped her stick and went straight for Gaara.

Gaara looked at her with crazy eyes. He swung to hit her, but she quickly grabbed his arm and threw it to the side. In one small movement she managed to get both his hands out of the way and wrap her arms around his waist.

"Gaara! Please!" She yelled as she held onto him.

_"What!" _The voice yelled out.

Gaara looked down at her. The voice was fading away now, protesting, but fading. She hadn't attacked him at all. She was hugging him.

His hands went limp down to his sides. His body was relaxing with the heat of her body against his. His mind was calming as well. He was replaying the event over and over in his head. She could have easily had him once she negated his sand. But instead she hugged him. It didn't make any sense at all.

"Gaara." She said through tears. "I don't know what's wrong. But I know this isn't really you."

Gaara hesitated at first, his hand twitching, debating whether or not this was real. But once he decided it was, he gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in even closer to him.

Nikomi nestled into his chest, just like before. Except this time she knew who it was. Everything about this was so familiar. In the hospital he had sat by her making her feel safe even though he didn't really know her. Now she was returning the favor.

"Gaara…" She said once more, simply to make sure he was ok.

Gaara didn't say anything, he just held her there. This was the feeling from the hospital. He couldn't put a name to it. It was a warm feeling that made his entire being feel strange. He didn't want this feeling to ever end. The hurting he felt for all those years was somehow melting away. He wondered, is this love?

Nikomi looked up at him after a few moments. His eyes were closed and he too was cuddled to her. It was the calmest and happiest she had seen him all day. He didn't look like someone who used to be considered dangerous. He looked almost innocent.

The both of them didn't want this to end, but of course nothing can last forever. Nikomi suddenly felt the effects of what she had just done. She yelled out, causing Gaara to let go of her, and fell to her knees. She cradled her right arm, grinding her teeth and begging for the pain to stop.

Gaara looked at her in horror. What had happened? He knelt in front of her and without question picked her up.

"I'm taking you back." He told her point blank.

"No. Take me to my place. It's closer." She instructed.

"But your hand…"

"I'll be fine. I have some of the stuff to stop it from spreading. Just…go!" She said through clenched teeth.

Gaara didn't ask anymore questions. He whisked her off, taking her directions to get to her place.

When they arrived she told him to put her down and so he did. She opened the door and before she could go any further another bout of pain shot through her arm. She let out another yell and started to fall. Gaara quickly grabbed her and carried her inside, setting her on the bed.

The place was tiny. There was a bed against the far wall, a small kitchen area and a bathroom. It wasn't much to look at, at all. It was clear now that she really was an orphan trying to make it on her own.

"In the cabinet in the bathroom theirs a kit, grab it." She directed him.

He didn't ask questions, just did as she said. He searched for a moment amongst the clutter that filled her cabinet, but eventually found what she was talking about. When he came back out she was already half way done unwrapping her bandages, with a pillow held in front of her chest as not to expose anything.

As she pulled off the last bandage Gaara handed her the kit. She reached to grab it and Gaara saw what the problem was. Her entire right arm was being overcome with the negative chakra.

Nikomi opened the kit and pulled out a small needle, much smaller then the one Sakura had used. She then pulled out a vile of that substance and proceeded to pull the protective cap off the needle. Before she could do anything else her hand automatically released the needle, making her drop it onto the floor.

"Damn it. I can't hold on to it. You're going to have to help me." She told Gaara who was watching closely.

"Right." He bent over and picked up the fallen needle then grabbed the vile off the bed. "How much?"

"Fill it to the fourth line." She told him, still cradling her hand.

Gaara did as she said and prepared the serum exactly. He went to hand it to her but she shook her head.

"I can't. You have to. It'll work better that way anyway. You can put it into the base of my spine." She told him, pointing to the exact spot.

Gaara swallowed hard and sat down on the bed behind her. He scanned over her back, examining the scars with his eyes. They looked like tiny mountain ranges all along her back. He gave him a chill to think how painful it must be.

He shot a little of the serum into the air to get any bubbles out of it then gently placed his hand on the small of her back. He didn't count, he didn't want to prolong it. He quickly jabbed the needle in and as fast as he could injected the serum into her body.

She didn't scream like she had before. She just winced and grabbed at the pillow she was holding in her arms.

Gaara pulled the needle out and almost instantly the negative chakra that was creeping up her arm stopped and began to fade. It didn't completely vanish this time, but it looked better.

Nikomi relaxed after a few seconds and her breathing steadied. "Thank you." She said without looking at him.

Gaara nodded, not saying a word. He continued to scan her back up and down, looking at each individual scar. He grimaced when he thought of how it must feel. He wasn't very familiar with physical pain, but from what he knew, he wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"They don't hurt. At least not anymore." She told him, having noticed his eyes looking her up and down.

Gaara set the used needle on the end table sitting next to the bed then hesitantly brought his hand up to her shoulder. He didn't want to be intrusive, but seeing this made him curious. He wanted to know what she felt.

He gently ran the tips of his fingers along the edge of one of the scars. The risen skin was expectedly rough. But as he moved his finger off the ridge of the scar the skin became amazingly smooth. It was almost like touching new silk, delicate and soft.

Nikomi closed her eyes and relaxed. Normally she would have stopped anyone who tried to touch her. Even when the nurses tried to apply ointment she would throw a fit. But for some reason his doing it made her feel calm.

Gaara continued to run his hand along her back, taking in every texture. It was the calmest he had felt in his entire life. Although he usually put on a false front, he always was fighting an internal battle. But this moment paused that battle.

Nikomi turned her head to look at him. Gaara immediately pulled his hand from her back and set it in his lap.

"I'm sorry." He said embarrassed.

Nikomi shook her head. "No. It's alright."

"I…I should get you back to the hospital." He said as he stood to his feet.

Nikomi reached and grabbed his wrist without realizing what she had done. "Wait!"

Gaara turned back to look at her. She looked like a child, begging not to be left alone. He could understand that.

Nikomi let go of his wrist and dropped her head. "Just…let me rebandage myself and…I'll be ready."

Gaara nodded and left the room. Moments later he came back in and saw her lace up the last tie of her bodice.

"Will you be alright to walk?" He asked as serious as ever.

"I'll be fine." She said as she slowly stood up.

Gaara reached out a hand and grabbed her arm, helping her to her feet. Again, he felt that feeling the moment their eyes met. He didn't know how to handle it. It was something he had never really experienced before.

Nikomi gazed up at him. Even if she could only see chakra, she could tell he was lost. She reached up with one hand and gently placed it on his face. Then without any hesitation she leaned up and kissed him.

Gaara's eyes grew wide. He didn't know what to do. His heart began to beat fast and his cheeks flushed.

Nikomi pulled away and looked away. "I'm…sorry." She said.

Gaara looked at her a bit confused. "Why in the world would you apologize for that?" He asked. He then gently touched her chin and moved her face to look at his. He looked into her blank eyes and for the first time could see some kind of awareness in them. He didn't know, but he felt that she was actually seeing his real face and not just his chakra. He wrapped his hands around her waste, pulled her towards him, and gently kissed her again, this time being much more prepared for it.

Nikomi closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tenderly played with his hair as she sunk deeper and deeper into the kiss.

Gaara could feel the softness of her lips against his and it made him forget everything he had ever been through. He felt as if the Shukaku had actually left him. That maybe she had somehow suppressed it completely, finally giving him real peace of mind.

Nikomi reluctantly pulled away, her eyes slowly opening. "I should go back. Tsunade-sama is going to be furious." She whispered.

Gaara looked down at her, still holding her close. He didn't want to let her go. It was the first time he had ever felt truly loved, but he knew she was right. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah." He said, back in his normal dark voice.

Nikomi hesitantly lowered her hands from his neck and he let go of her waist. Gaara bent down and picked up her walking stick. He handed it to her, and as their hands touched they again for just a second felt that same spark as before. She took it from him, resisting the urge to kiss him again.

Gaara turned, and without another worded, picked up his gourd and walked out the door. Nikomi caught up to him and grabbed his hand. It took him by surprise at first but then he relaxed.

The whole way back to the hospital Gaara and Nikomi walked hand in hand, not saying a single word. It was late and they knew their moments together were limited so they didn't want to ruin it with words.


	6. Chapter 6

(Final chapter. Yay! Sorry this is such a long chapter guys but I got really into it lol. I have a really bad habit of doing that. But at least it's detailed right! So I hope you enjoy it! Also I'm putting up a pic of my OC Nikomi at Fanartcentral! She's preeeeeetty lol. I was damn proud of my drawing of her. Anyway…Look for Sailorme120 and she'll be there shortly! Oh yeah...REVIEW!)

A month had gone by and the final Chuunin exam was at a fifteen minute intermission. All together 10 genin had managed to get to the finals. The first several matches had been intense, and all the fighters were worthy opponents. But now it was time for the last match of the day. The whole crowd was excited to see the last two fighters, Nikomi and Keeran, fight it out.

Gaara sat up in his respected spot next to Tsunade-sama watching the matches closely, trying to feel as objective as possible. It was difficult though. He hadn't seen one particular candidate who he hadn't gotten rather close to in a while. He found that he couldn't help but silently root for her during her matches.

"These things take so long," Tsunade stated, taking a quick swig of sake. "I'm glad it's almost over."

Gaara didn't react at all. In all honesty he completely disagreed. Once the matches were over he would go back to the Sand village. He had gone back during the month before the matches and it was the longest month of his life. But he couldn't tell anyone that. He was afraid it would be looked down on if any one found out about his relationship with a candidate, since he was one of the ones who got to choose who became a chuunin.

Tsunade stood up and yawned once again. "I'm going to go walk around for a minute." She told the other people sitting near her.

Nobody really acknowledged her. They all just stayed seating, fixed on the battle arena. Tsunade shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to head out of the seating area.

Gaara kept glancing down where the fighters were to see if he could maybe get a glimpse at her, but although he could clearly see the others standing there, she was no where in sight.

"Kazekage-sama," one of his rather unwanted escorts came up to him and whispered. "The Hokage has requested you go down and walk with her. She says she wants to talk about something important."

Gaara nodded and stood up, not verbally agreeing to it but doing it anyway. He followed his attendant out of the seating area and down the hall. The attendant gestured to Tsunade half way down the hall, bowed then left.

Gaara shook his head and sighed. What could she possibly want? He walked the rest of the way down then noticed someone else, much shorter and younger then Tsunade, standing next to her.

Gaara's entire demeanor changed in a heart beat. He could feel himself smiling on the inside, although still not showing it outwardly. He tried his hardest not to show his excitement, but that was hard for even him.

He approached the two women standing there and bowed his head. "Hokage-sama." He said in a very formal matter. He then looked down at Nikomi, and didn't say anything, he just took in her face. She was grinning ear to ear and her eyes looked bright just like before.

"I want to speak to you about this candidate. I thought it was important that she be here for this discussion." Tsunade began. "I've already decided that she will become a Chunin, so this final match is purely for the entertainment of the audience. Her efficiency in battle shows that she is capable of leading her own missions."

Gaara knew Tsunade was just running her mouth. There was another underlying purpose to this meeting.

"As the Hokage of Konoha I'm putting in a formal request that she be sent to the Sand village as a liaison between the Sand and Konoha." Tsunade explained sounding rather proper about it all.

Nikomi turned sharply to look at Tsunade. This was completely unexpected of her. There was no real need to send someone to the sand. She was just making it up.

Gaara looked at her intently, a little confused about this sudden decision.

"I normally would not send anyone with her condition too far from the village. But since you are aware of her condition I feel she would be in good hands. Do you accept my request?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara still didn't know what to say. He was feeling a little flustered and embarrassed, knowing that Tsunade was simply doing this so they could be together, meaning she knew about it the whole time.

Nikomi looked back and forth between the two kages. Her patience was growing thin. She wanted an answer. "Well?" She finally said, putting her hands on her hips and looking straight at Gaara.

Gaara nodded, "I accept your request. She will officially be a guest in the sand as soon as these matches are finished."

Nikomi couldn't contain her excitement anymore. She threw her hands into the air and let out an astounding, "YES!"

Gaara looked at her in shock. He didn't think she would react like that. It had completely broke the serious atmosphere.

Tsunade chuckled and shook her head. "I'm going back to sit down. The matches will start again shortly." At that she walked away, leaving the two of them alone.

Gaara stood there staring at Nikomi as she danced around in a circle. This was the most energetic he had ever seen her. He had no idea how to react to it.

Nikomi stopped and looked at him. "You know…being in the sand for that month made you all serious again. You were starting to lighten up when you left."

Gaara huffed trying his hardest not to laugh. He didn't want to show his emotions in a place like this. People were already staring because of Nikomi's crazy antics, so if he suddenly showed emotion they would be in serious shock.

"Jeeze, lighten up. Just cause you're in all your fancy Kazekage get up doesn't mean you have to distance yourself from me." Nikomi said pointing at him.

He looked down at his wardrobe. He hated wearing this outfit, but it was the official Kazekage uniform, so he had to when he went to events such as these.

"I'm going to have to start calling you Gaara-sama, or better yet Kazekage-sama, if you keep this up." Nikomi said, continuing to harass him.

"You're match is going to start soon." He told her bluntly.

Nikomi looked at him confused. This wasn't the way she remembered him. He was being so stern and serious.

Gaara turned and walked off, leaving Nikomi standing there baffled.

"Gaara?" She asked in a sad confused tone. "Gaara-sama?"

Gaara continued to walk away, ignoring her calls for him. He couldn't show his emotions here. He had to be strong. He was the Kazekage after all.

Nikomi watched as he walked away from her. He hadn't even said hello to her. It was like he didn't want to acknowledge her at all. It made her angry. It made her feel like she had always felt, rejected and alone.

She turned and walked back down to the candidate's area. She was completely lost and her frustration was slowly turning into anger.

The break ended and she was called down to the arena. Her heart felt like it was cracking in two. With every moment that passed she grew more and more angry.

In the arena she stood face to face with the little boy, Keeran. He was younger than anyone else at 10, but he was vicious. His life was already jaded despite his age. There was no naivety in his dark brown eyes at all.

"You know the rules," Shikamaru, the examiner for this match, stated. "This is the last fight of the day so make it quick. This is far too troublesome. Ok….begin."

He stepped out of the way and the match began. Both candidates stood there staring at each other for a moment, sizing one another up.

"You took out the number one rookie, you're good. But I don't think you can handle me." The little boy told her in a very dark voice, while glaring at her.

"Whatever. Let's just go!" Nikomi shouted, still very angry.

"He reminds me of someone." Tsunade whispered to Gaara.

Gaara looked down at the redhead boy, who stood there with his arm crossed and an aura of death. "I know," he said simply.

Nikomi twirled her stick and slammed it onto the ground, sending negative chakra into the earth causing it to crack beneath the little boy.

Without any difficulty Keeran jumped out of the way. He landed softly in a squat without making any noise at all. He rose back to standing and assumed normal armed crossed position once again, not saying a word.

Nikomi didn't react either, she had assumed that he would dodge it, but that was her plan.

Suddenly a huge rumbling could be felt from underneath the ground. Keeran realized what was going on, but it was too late. Out from the earth came a huge blast of negative chakra, sending him flying through the air then landing hard on the ground.

"Wow," Tsunade said. "What did you do to her?"

"I gave her an edge." Gaara said, eyes fixed on the match.

Tsunade gave him a side ways glanced then shook her head. _What an odd way to show someone you care. _She thought to herself, realizing what he meant.

Keeran looked up at Nikomi as he pulled himself back onto to his feet. It was a good shot, but not enough to keep him down. His eyes were crazy now. He wasn't going to just take this as a nothing match anymore.

A wicked smile shot across his face as he staggered to regain his balance. He looked like he was about to snap. How could a ten year old be this warped?

Nikomi narrowed her eyes at the little boy. She couldn't see his crazy expression that well so it didn't phase her. "You think you're slick shit don't you?" She asked then laughed. "You're nothing."

She went running at him swinging her stick around, twirling it, and jabbing at him. He dodged left and right, avoiding every hit. He knew that if he got hit by that thing it would be the end.

He jumped back, getting a good amount of distance between him and her. Nikomi rushed at him with more conviction then ever. He formed two seals then slammed his hands onto the ground. Immediately the ground cracked and roots began to shoot up, surrounding him.

Nikomi stopped quickly, her feet skidding across the ground. She could see the branches surrounding him, meaning they were infused with Chakra. She laughed and again twirled her stick then jabbed it into one of the roots where the chakra flow was the highest.

She began to release her negative chakra into it, making it crumble before her. It wouldn't be protecting him for much longer.

She smirked as his barrier collapsed, but once she could see inside her smirk faded into confusion. The boy wasn't there.

She felt something hard slam into her back and went flying through the air then falling hard onto the ground. When she could move, she looked behind her to see the boy standing there, again his arms crossed, and a root sinking back into the ground.

Gaara cringed when he heard her hit the ground. It was a hard hit.

Nikomi staggered to her feet and went right back into a fighting stance. "Not bad. But I can do better."

At that she stood up straight and tucked her walking stick under her arm. Keeran gave her an odd look. She looked as if she were just going to stop fighting, right there. But he knew that couldn't be the case.

Nikomi ripped the bandages at her wrists with her teeth then unwrapped them leaving her hands exposed.

Keeran's eyes grew wide when he saw the girl's bare hands. They were covered in the negative chakra. And as more time passed more and more seemed to be seeping out.

Nikomi grinned wickedly at him as the last bandage fell to the ground. "There…that's better." She said with a hint of cockiness in her voice.

Keeran glared at her once again. "You really think that will make a difference?" He asked, confident in his skills.

Nikomi shook her head. "As I told your team mate…don't…underestimate me!"

She then formed one hand sign which made her hands glow completely purple, then slowly knelt down and placed her hands on the ground.

Keeran watch fixedly. Whatever it was she was doing, he was confident he would be able to negate it.

The negative chakra began to flow out her hands and into the ground. It flowed in odd lines, zig zagging all over, with no obvious reason behind it. Nikomi then stood up, grimacing a little from using that much of that chakra.

"What was that?" Keeran asked a little annoyed.

"You'll see." She said smiling at him.

Keeran braced himself for another explosion. He formed his hand signs again and slammed his hands onto the ground just like before. But to his dismay nothing happened. He formed the signs once more and tried once more, but again nothing. He looked up in horror at Nikomi. "You filled all the roots with that negative chakra!" He yelled.

Nikomi had a look of satisfaction on her face. She had completely erased his defense. Now he would be open for attack and wouldn't be able to hit her with those roots anymore. "Now what will you do?"

"Tch. You think that's all I have?" Keeran asked irritated by her overconfidence. "I haven't even started!" He yelled. He then formed four other hand signs and yelled out his jutsu.

Out of his body wooden spikes began to form and shoot up through the air in every direction. "You can't avoid them if you can't see them!"

He was right, Nikomi couldn't see them. They weren't infused with chakra. But she didn't have to see them.

Nikomi quickly knelt down again and placed her hands onto the ground, sending chakra evenly through the earth, then up and around her.

The shield of chakra deflected every last spike and Nikomi stood up unharmed.

Keeran growled then formed a few more hand signs. "I'm not done just yet." He yelled. He parted his arms, trembling as if something was fighting back at him, his fists clenched.

The spikes that were laying all around Nikomi began to move again. Nikomi watched the boy in horror. She couldn't see the spikes, but she could see the chakra moving out from his body.

Nikomi tought for a second then noticed his eyes were closed and he was completely unarmed. She decided this was her last chance.

She stepped towards him but, before she could take a second step, screamed out in pain. She grabbed her arm and pulled out one of the spikes. _I see. You don't need a defense because if I move the spikes attack me. But you're not the only one with tricks like that._

Nikomi formed two hand signs quickly then shot her hands out to the side. Purple chakra started to pour out of her hands and turn to mist, filling the air. It made the arena unseeable to everyone else. But with this jutsu, she could see just like a normal person. Now she saw his every feature. He looked so much like Gaara that it made her furious.

Keeran opened his eyes and realized that he couldn't see. He dropped his hands and put his guard back up, but it was too late. In front of him he saw Nikomi come flying at him, avoiding every spike that flew at her. She quickly spun her stick around then jabbed him in the forehead with it. "It's over," she said as he fell to the ground.

There was silence from the audience. Nobody could see what was going on. They all waited with anticipation to see what had happened.

As the fog of chakra cleared, and everything around her faded, Nikomi heard a loud roar of applause, cheers, and screams. She looked up, scanning the people in the crowd and smiling. She had always felt strong and confident in her abilities, but now everyone else knew it too.

As she looked up at the Hokage's seating area, her smile faded. She searched for Gaara's chakra but couldn't find him. She squinted and looked harder, but he wasn't up there. Had he missed the whole thing? She looked down at the ground, her happiness from just a moment ago fading away.

"Winner, Ikio Nikomi." Shikamaru said sounding rather relieved that it was finally all over.

The crowd cheered even louder now. They were thrilled at the outcome. Who knew that everyone had been rooting for her? But it wasn't enough to make her cheer up again. Did Gaara really not want her around anymore? Her he seriously decided that it just wouldn't work? She didn't know. All she knew was that he wasn't up there watching her, and that he seemed to not want her anymore when she spoke to him earlier.

Nikomi swallowed, pushing back the urge to cry then put on a fake smile. She looked back up to the crowd and waved then headed out of the arena.

The other candidates that were steal able bodied stood at the entrance, clapping for her. As soon as she was out of the crowd's sight she dropped the act and stormed past the other fighters.

They looked at her confused but didn't try to stop her. They figured it probably wasn't a good idea to bother her when she looked that pissed and just got done fighting.

She was finally by herself, storming through the stairwell. She needed a moment to breath. She would have to go back out there in a minute for the closing ceremonies, but until then she just wanted to be by herself.

She sat down on the stairs with a huff. She was fuming. She no longer wanted to cry, she wanted to hurt something.

"That bastard!" She yelled out, not being able to contain her anger anymore.

"That's not very nice." She heard from behind her.

She turned sharp, and saw Gaara standing behind her in his usual stance, looking rather serious.

She glared at him. "What do you want?" She snapped.

Gaara walked down the stairs to stand in front of her. "I wanted to congratulate you personally. I mean before the ceremony."

"Well thanks," she said irritated. "But I don't see why."

Gaara sat down next to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off, stood up, and turned to face him.

"You think you can blow me off, not watch my fight, then come in here and act like everything's fine and dandy. I don't think so!" She yelled at him.

"Answer me honestly. If I hadn't blown you off up there, and acted overly happy to see you, do you think you would have done as well?" He asked.

Nikomi stuttered, searching for an excuse. But she knew he was right. "No." She said still angry.

"And do you really think I didn't watch your fight?" He asked.

"You weren't up there!" She yelled.

"I was up until the fog cleared and then I headed down here to see you." He told her.

Nikomi disposition brightened just a little when she heard that. "So then…you saw me?" She asked.

Gaara nodded. "Of course."

"And you just blew me off before because…because you didn't want me to be distracted?"

"You sure do ask a lot of questions. But yes, that's why. I didn't want to be the reason you lost." Gaara explained to her. "So will you please put on a good face for the crowd?"

"No," she said flatly.

He looked at her in shock. He wasn't expecting that response. "Why not?"

"I need something first." She said very seriously.

"What?" He asked her, completely lost as to where she was going with this.

"I'm not sure if I can get it though."

"Well what is it?" He asked a little afraid.

Nikomi sat down facing him on the stairs. Her face looked troubled.

"Are you ok?" He asked concerned. "Do you need the shot?"

Nikomi shook her head. "Nope…I'm fine. I don't have any chakra left, not after creating that fog."

"Well then what do you need?"

"This!" She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He fell backwards onto the steps. _I should have seen that coming. _And he should of. It was so obvious.

Nikomi was practically on top of him, which was fine by him, except that he could hear foot steps coming down the stairs.

Gaara gently pushed her away and stood straight up not a moment too soon. The other leaders of the allied villages, including Tsunade, were heading down the stairs.

"There you are Gaara." Tsunade said, having spotted him on the steps.

Gaara regained his composure and looked up at Tsunade as she headed down the steps. "I was waiting for you." He said completely straight faced.

"Well the both of you need to get down to the arena so we can start the closing ceremony." Tsunade instructed.

Gaara nodded then grabbed Nikomi's hand. "Let me help you down the steps, they're pretty steep." He was just making up an excuse to hold her hand.

Nikomi smiled. "Thank you."

As they stepped down the last stair they let go of each other, not trying to draw attention. The leaders walked out first, as it was customary. Then the fighters all followed behind, Nikomi leading the bunch of them.

Tsunade made her speech, talking about how they are formidable ninja and all the formal things. They recapped the matches, then introduced Nikomi as the winner and last explained that they would meet to decide who was to become a chuunin.

The crowd cheered for a while then the ceremony ended. Everyone left the stadium, going their separate ways. After about an hour the stadium was quiet and empty, as if nothing had happened at all.

Nikomi sat on the outside steps all alone. Night had fallen and the cool air felt good against her skin. She stared into the sky, even if she couldn't see she could still feel the stars were bright tonight.

She sighed, knowing this would be her last night in Konoha. But more importantly it would be her last night of loneliness.

Gaara had left with the other leaders to discuss who was to pass. Tsunade would inform all the other leaders that Nikomi would be heading to the sand village to work as a liaison. Gaara would probably sit in the meeting silent most of the time, giving simple yes or no answers.

"Can I join you?" Gaara asked.

"Why aren't you in the meeting?" Nikomi asked confused.

"It's been two hours, the meetings over. Have you been sitting here the whole time?"

"Ha! I guess I have." Nikomi giggled out. "I wish I could see the stars." She told him.

"The ones up their aren't all that great. They only come out when it's dark and the moon is at its dimmest." Gaara explained. "But now that you'll be with me, I think they'll come out more often."

Nikomi smiled then elbowed him in the side. "You're so corny."

"I was trying to be poetic." He growled out.

Just then Nikomi felt a drop on her face. "I knew it would rain."

Gaara looked over at her and then he too felt a drop. "How did you know?"

"The air is thicker. It's more moist then normal." She explained to him.

"I didn't feel anything."

"When you don't have your eyes to tell you what's going on you learn to rely on your other senses." Nikomi told him, holding out her hand feeling the raindrops.

"Maybe we should go inside. It's starting to get heavier." Gaara said as he stood up.

Nikomi nodded and reached her hand to him.

Gaara took it without question and hoisted her up off the ground. The two of them ran back into the deserted arena.

"Man, it sounds like it's really coming down out there." Nikomi said, pointing out the obvious.

"I like it. It doesn't rain much in the desert." He told her.

"Yeah…I guess that's right. So you should enjoy the moment." She told him, staring out into the rain.

"You're right." He turned to face her and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. He could see the reflection of the stars glowing in the rain in her eyes. He smiled then leaned down and kissed her.

She relaxed and placed her hands gently on his stomach and worked her way up his chest, to his shoulders, then around his neck.

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her even closer. Again they were lost in the moment. And this time there was nothing to interrupt them. It was just them and the stars.

Tsunade walked down the street past the arena, umbrella in hand, heading out to get some more sake when she felt the presence of two people. She looked over at the arena entrance and she could see the silhouettes of two people locked in an embrace. Sitting next to them was the shadow of a long stick and a large gourd.

Tsunade shook her head and chuckled then continued to walk, leaving them to each other.


End file.
